Guidance for industry

Good environmental management is consistent with good business management. Consistent with the waste hierarchy, both aim to maximise the efficiency of raw material usage, while minimising the consumption of energy, water and other inputs.

Sound environmental management helps to achieve triple bottom line (environmental/social/economic) benefits.

Controlling wastewater discharges

Industrial and commercial operations that can discharge significant amounts of wastewater to the environment are controlled by EPA's works approval/licensing system. The works approval and licensing system ensures that EPA reviews proposed works before they are constructed and, when they are brought into service, discharges are controlled by licence conditions.

EPA uses works approvals and licences to ensure that industry minimises waste generation and only discharges treated wastes after all waste avoidance and minimisation options have been implemented.

Environmental guidelines

EPA has developed guidelines to advise industry about good environmental practice and prepared business sustainability case studies on the benefits provided by resource efficiency:

• Using tankers to supply reclaimed water for drought relief
• EPA Publication 464.2 – Guidelines for Environmental Management – Use of Reclaimed Water (Adobe PDF file, 1235KB or 1.2MB)
• EPA Publication 500 – Code of Practice for Small Wastewater Treatment Plants (Adobe PDF file, 1489KB or 1.5MB)
• EPA Publication 570 – Environmental Guidelines for the Dairy Processing Industry (Adobe PDF file, 315KB)
• EPA Publication 621 – Environmental Guidelines for the Textile Dyeing and Finishing Industry (Adobe PDF file, 245KB)
• EPA Publication 628 – Environmental Guidelines for the Concrete Batching Industry (Adobe PDF file, 135KB)
• EPA Publication 691 – Guidelines for Dredging (Adobe PDF file, 792KB)
• EPA Publication 730 – Guidelines for Environmental Management – Disinfection of Treated Wastewater (Adobe PDF file, 198KB)
• EPA Publication 1015 – Guidelines for Environmental Management: Dual pipe water recycling schemes - Health and environmental risk management (Adobe PDF file, 576KB)

Guideline for environmental management: biosolids land application

Biosolids (appropriately treated sewage sludge) can make an important contribution to sustainable environmental management, through the return of organic material, trace elements, moisture and nutrients to our soils.

The Guideline for Environmental Management: Biosolids Land Application (Adobe PDF file, 1160KB or 1.2MB) enables this beneficial use of biosolids, by providing a management framework that ensures any chemical and microbiological risks are appropriately managed. The drafting of the guideline has been supported by a best practice review of International and Australian biosolids management approaches and broad consultation on proposed guidance in November 2002 and 2000.

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